Mrs. Cook AP Lang and Comp Rhetoric

STUDY

PLAY

includes reversal of grammatical structure, can be used to reinforce antithesis

antimetabole

includes reversal of grammatical structure, can be used to reinforce antithesis, repeats words

epistrophe

repetition of the same word or group of words at the ends of successive clauses; sets up a pronounced rhythm and secures special emphasis; repeating and placement of the wordi.e. "I'll have my bond! Speak not against my bond! I have sworn an oath that I will have my bond!"

aphaeresis

subtracting a syllable from the beginning of a wordi.e. 'neath for beneath

epenthesis

adding a syllable in the middle of a wordi.e. visitating for visiting

antanaclasis

repetition of a word in two different sensesi.e. "your arguement is sound, nothing but sound"

paranomasia

use of words alike in sound but different in meaning

apocope

subtracting a syllable from the end of a wordi.e. even for evening

antimetabole

repetition of words, in successive clauses, in reverse grammatical orderi.e. "mankind must put an end to war - or war will put an end to mankind"

proparalepsis

adding a syllable at the end of a wordi.e. muchly for much

epanalepsis

repetition at the end of a clause of the word that occured at the beginning of the clause: emotioni.e. "year chases year, decay pusues decay"

metonymy

substitution of some attribute or suggestive word for what is actually meant (very similar to synecdoche)i.e. "in Europe, we gave the cold shoulder to De Gaulle, and now he gives the warm hand to Mao"

polyptoton

repetition of words derived from the same root; akin to plays on words (tropes)i.e. "we would like to contrain the uncontainable future in a glass"

antithesis

the juxtaposition of contrasting ideas often in parallel structure: opposition can reside in either the words or ideas or both: obviously related to the topic of dissimilarity and the topic of contrariesi.e. "by the time it's empty, life will be full"

ellipsis

deliberate omission of word(s) which are readily implied by the context: words must be grammatically compatiblei.e. "the master's degree is awardedby 74 departments, and the Phd by 60"

paradox

an apparently contradictory statement that nevertheless contains a measure of truthi.e. "art is a form of lying in order to tell the truth"

parallelism

similarity in structure in a pair or series of related words, phrases, or clauses = things be set forth in coordinate grammatical structures (nouns with nouns, etc.)i.e. "he tried to make the law clear, precise, and equitable"

parenthesis

insertion that interrupts the normal flow of a sentence; abruptly - and usually briefly - sends the thought off on a tangenti.e. "there is even, and itis the achievement of this book, a curious sense of happiness running throught its paragraphs"

polysyndeton

deliberate use of many conjunctions (opp. of asyndeton); can be used in different ways (emphasis/tone)i.e. "And God said, 'let the earth bring forth...cattle and creeping things and beasts of the earth according to their kinds' And it was so...And God saw that it was good"

syllepsis (pun)

use of a word understood differently in relation to two or more other words, which it modifies or governsi.e. "the ink, like our pig, keeps running out of the pen"

alliteration

repetition of initial/medial consonants in two or more adjacent wordsi.e. "Already American vessels had been searched, seized, and sunk"

assonance

the repetition of similar vowel sounds, preceded and followed by different consonants, in the stressed syllables of adjacent wordsi.e. "had gray written often thus, it had been vain to blame and uselss to praise him"

anaphora

repetition of the same word(s) at the beginning of successive clauses; deliberate use => strong emotional effecti.e. "...let us march to the realization of the American dream. Let us march on segregated housing. Let us march on segregated schools. Let us march..."

climax

arrangement of words, phrases, or clauses in an order of increasing importance (repetition when in a cont. and diplosis with three or more numbers)i.e. "Let man acknowledge obligations to his family, his county, and his God"

chiasmus

the "criss-cross" - reversal of grammatical structure in successive phrases or clausesi.e. "his time a moment, and a point his space"

metaphor

an implied comparison between two things of unlike nature that yet have something in commoni.e. "on the final examination, several students went down in flames"

simile

an explicit comparison (like or as); between two things of unlike nature that yet have something in commoni.e. "he had a posture like a question mark"

personification (prosopopoeia)

investing abstractions or inanimate objects with human abilities/qualitiesi.e. "the ground thirsts for rain"

hyperbole

the use of exaggerated terms for the purpose of emphasis or heightened effecti.e. "it's really ironical..I have gray hair. I really do. The one side of my dead - the right side - is full of millions of gray hairs"

anastrophe

inversion of the natural or usual word order; its chief function is to secure emphasis (beginning and end of clause)i.e. "good musicians of their type they are. Clean and neat in appearance they are, neede, we might say, they are"

apposition

placing side-by-side two coordinate elements, the second of which serves as an explanation or modification of the firsti.e. "Men of this kind - soldiers of fortune, pool-hall habitues, gigolos, beachcombers, - expend their talents on trivialities"

litotes

deliberate use of understatement, not to deceive, but to enhance the impressiveness of what we sayi.e. "it isn't very serious, I have this tiny little tumor on the brain"

rhetorical question (erotema)

asking a question, not for an answer, but for the purpose of asserting or denying something obliquely; persuasive devicei.e. "a good student body is perhaps the most imporant factor in a great university. How can you possibly make good wine from poor grapes?"

the yoking of two terms that are ordinarily contradictoryi.e. "sweet pain"

asyndeton

deliberate omission of conjunctions between a series of related clausesi.e. "They may have it in well doing, they may have it in learning, they may have it even in criticism"

synecdoche

a figure of speech in which a part stands for a wholei.e. steel for sword

isocolon

when parallel elements are similar in number of words and number of syllables; contributes to rhythmi.e. "his purpose was; to impress the ignorant, to perplex the dubious, and to confound the scrupulous"

periphrasis

substitution of a descriptive word/phrase for a proper name OR of proper name for a quality associated with the namei.e. "she may not have been a Penelope, but she was not as unfaithful as the gossips made her out to be"

anadiplosis

repetition of the last word of one clause at the beginning of the following clausei.e. "The laughter had to be gross or it would turn to sobs, and to sob would be to realize, and to realize would be to despair"

prosthesis

adding a syllable in front of a wordi.e. beloved for loved

irony

use of a word in such a way to convey a meaning opposite to the literal meaning of the word: be aware or audiencei.e. "for Brutus is an honourable man, so they are all honourable men"

metathesis

transposition of letters in a wordi.e. clapse for clasp, aks for ask

antisthecon

change of soundi.e. wrang for wrong

syncope

subtracting a syllable from the middle of a wordi.e. proprous for prosperous

anthimeria

the substitution of one part of speech for anotheri.e. "the thunder would not peace at my bidding"

brachylogia

omission of conjunctions between single words or phrases (special case)i.e. "and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth"